Byung “BJay” Pak, a Trump nominee who has served in the office since 2017, abruptly quit his job on Monday as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, which includes Atlanta and Fulton County, citing “unforeseen circumstances” in a memorandum to staff.
Pak’s departure follows the outburst during a phone call over the weekend, in which Trump put Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, under pressure to “find” votes in the state election, which he lost President-elect Joe Biden.
The Department of Justice has said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Bobby Christine, who is also a Trump nominee and has been in office since 2017, will take over as acting principal in Atlanta and take on both roles.
“On January 4, 2021, Bobby was appointed acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia by written order of the President,” Christine’s bio said on the Justice Department’s website.
It is not clear why Pak left a few days before his previously planned departure or why the White House intervened to instill leadership in the office instead of an experienced deputy taking over temporarily, which is typical for the end of ‘ a government.
The office of Atlanta’s top assistant attorney, Kurt Erskine, would normally have assumed the acting U.S. attorney role, but was handed over to Christine. Erskine declined to comment Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Northern District of Georgia did not provide further information about Pak’s departure.
Sources familiar to him say Pak, a former Georgia state representative and white-collar defense attorney, has spoken to major law firms about joining them and plans to close his private practice office soon. to leave. But his immediate departure on Monday was a surprise, also for those who know him.
In a statement Monday from the Justice Department announcing his resignation, he said he was grateful to Trump for the opportunity to serve and thanked former Attorney General Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions.
“It was the greatest honor of my professional career that I was able to serve my fellow citizens as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia,” he said. “I have done my best to be considerate and consistent and to do justice to my fellow citizens in a fair, effective and efficient manner.”
Until now, Christine has not been as sensational as Pak, as the federal prosecutor’s office in Atlanta tends to overshadow other law enforcement officers in the state.
CNN’s Pamela Brown contributed to this report.